“Chancellor Walter Thurnherr Resigns After Crisis Legislature”
Published: Wednesday, Aug 16th 2023, 15:40
Updated At: Friday, Oct 13th 2023, 14:12
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Walter Thurnherr, the 60-year-old Mitte-Politiker and eighth Bundesrat, announced his resignation from the position of Bundeskanzler at the end of 2023 after eight years and a legislative term full of crises. He has enjoyed his role as Bundeskanzler, which involves overseeing the business of the Bundesrat, coordinating the administration, and mediating with the Parliament. Thurnherr is known as one of the most influential and powerful figures in the Bundeshaus, and is often seen as the eighth Bundesrat. He has been a crisis manager in recent years, and described the time since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic as "intense and demanding". He believes it is now time to pass on the role and do something else. Thurnherr has been involved in various projects, such as the processing of the Corona crisis, the digitalisation of the federal administration, and the dossier of electronic voting. He has criticised the "silo-thinking" in the seven departments, and believes that the spirit in the country is worse than it was 34 years ago when he first joined the federal administration. His successor will be chosen on the 13th of December, the same day as the general renewal election of the Bundesrat. Thurnherr was glancingly re-elected as Bundeskanzler in 2019 with 219 votes, and earned a salary of around 380,000 Swiss francs.nnnnnnnnnn
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